Abacus Planning Group Inc. Increases Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 175.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,792 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 255.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Universal Health Services by 86.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after buying an additional 9,755 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its position in Universal Health Services by 1,436.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 54,070 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $12,383,000 after buying an additional 50,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of UHS stock opened at $183.14 on Thursday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.68 and a twelve month high of $243.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 5.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UHS. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.14.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.